Closure cap securing means for jars and the like



R. MOENCK Jan. 6, 1942.

CLOSURE CAP SECURING MEANS FOR JARS AND THE LIKE Filed April 16, 1940 Patented Jan. 6, 1942 CLOSURE CAP SECURING DIEANS FOR JARS AND THE LIKE Robert Moenck, East Farms, Wash. A Application April 16, 1940, Serial No. 329,956 j Claims.

This invention relates generally to the class of receptable closures and pertains particularly to a novel and improved means of securing certain types of closures on receptacles while the same are being subjected to heat.

The present invention relates particularly t improvements in devices for securing covers upon receptacles such as glass jars or the like, which are used for preserving purposes, and particularly for securing such covers on the receptacles while the receptacles are being subjected to heat as in the cooking operation, which is customarily applied after the receptacles have been filled and closed, the device being so designed that such receptacle cover will be yieldably held to permit the escape of steam or vapor, but will be firmly pressed into position upon the mouth of the receptacle at all other times so that as the receptacle cools, a tight or hermetic seal will be established between the cover and the mouth of the receptacle, so that the contents will be preserved under reduced pressure and the cover will be maintained in position ,by atmospheric pressure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a receptacle cap or lid securing device which may be used indefinitely and which is so designed that the self-sealing cap or lid for the jar may be easily and quickly pressed into position on a jar mouth whereas with the holding rings which are at present employed, considerable strength must be employed with the hand for forcing such rings down or turning them so as to press the lid into the necessary tight engagement with the jar mouth, and since such preserving jars are in the majority of cases used by women, it frequently occurs that the user does not have the necessary strength in her hands to turn the securing ring to the proper extent to obtain the desired seal of the cap on the jar mouth.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or mcdificaions mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing: Fig. l is a view in side elevation of the upper portion of a preserving jar showing the applicainvention, portions of the jar and device being in section.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view in plan of the screw supporting plate, the screw being shown in transverse section.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the angulardisposition of the resilient securing legs.

At the present time, there is marketed a preserving jar' closure or cap which is made in two units, one of the units consisting of a, disk having a peripheral channel in which is a deposit of yieldable substance and the other unit consisting of a ring which is threaded onto the mouth of the preserving jar and draws the channeled portion of the disk down against the edge of the jar mouth, pressing the yieldable material against such edge so that when the jar is immersed in boiling water, as is the custom in preserving, so as to heat the contents or, when the jar is filled with hot preserves or other substance and-the cap isclosed, after the jar cools, the reduced pressure within will efiect, through the application of the exterior atmospheric pressure, the tight application of the disk to the jar and thus close the jar mouth securely against the entrance of bacteria. By this means, the jar cap or cover disk is firmly pressed in place and the contents of the jar is kept from spoilage. these devices are entirely satisfactory when properly applied, it frequently occurs, as has previously been pointed out, that when used by women, the user does not have sufficient strength in her hands to secure the lid tightly by the use of the ring whereas with the present device, such a tight application of the lid to the jar mouth may i be obtained without requiring a great amount of effort.

A'principal object of'the present invention, in view of the foregoing, is to provide a device which replaces the usual cap or lid holding ring and which will function not only to hold such lid firmly in place until the necessary seal is established between it and the mouth of the jar, but which maybe employed an indefinite number of times for securing such lids and can be operated by tion thereto of the deviceembodying the present .movable portions, one of which is indicated generally by the numeral l and is engaged around the lower part of the neck 2 of a preserving jar 3, while the other portion is indicated by the nu- While 7 meral 4 and extends over the top of the jar. The closure disk previously referred to is indicated by the numeral 5 and has around its periphery the channel portion 6 in which is the yieldable seal material 1 against which the lip 8 of the jar is pressed when the cap or disk is in position thereover.

Associated with the units l and 4 is a lid cover in the form of a disk 5' which overlies the closure 5 and rests theeron, as shown in Fig, 1, and has its central portion raised slightly, as indicated at 6, this cover being of slightly heavier material than the lid or disk 5, so as to withstand the strain imposed thereon by the compression screw hereinafter described.

The portion l of the cap or disk securing means comprises a split or open spring ring having the two side portions 9 joined or integrally united to form a hinge ring I0. These arms 9 terminate in the spaced reversely bent ends forming hooks H. As previously stated, the spring ring I frictionally engages around the lower part of the neck of the preserving jar so that the hooks project from one side and the hinge ring projects from the other. The resilient ring thus forms the fixed part of the cap securing device. The shiftable portion 4 of the securing device is here illustrated as being formed of twisted wire, but it may be obviously formed of any other suitable material or in any other suitable manner. However, the shiftable portion 4 comprises a vertical back arm l2 having at its lower end a hinge eye [3 through which the ring passes. At its upper end the arm l2 merges into the horizontal bar portion l4 formed intermediate its ends to provide the spaced parallel guides I and at its opposite end merging into the angularly and downwardly directed spring legs l6, each of which terminates in the inturned hook ll. Where the upper portion 4 of the cap securing device is made of spring wire throughout, as here illustrated, it will be obvious that only a single length of wire may be employed which will be bent midway of its ends to form the eye 13 and then have the two portions thus obtained twisted together to form the arm l2, the horizontal portion l4 and the spring legs N5, the twist being interrupted intermediate the ends of the horizontal portion [4 to provide the spaced parallel guides [5.

The spring legs are disposed in downwardly divergent relation and the hooks I! are rounded at their outer and under sides so that they may be pressed down against the adjacent hooks II and caused to snap into hooking engagement therewith,

Supported between the guides I5 is a short plate [8 which at its opposite ends has the downturned flanges I9 and I9, which pass between the guides I5. The flange [9' extends downwardly a greater distance than the flange 19 and at its lower edge has an inturned edge lip l9". Each of these flanges l9, I9, is notched at each end, as indicated at 20, to receive the adjacent guide l5, so that the plate [8 will be securely held horizontally on the portion [4.

Through the center of the plate [8, an aperture is formed for the reception of a screw 2! and upon the under side of the plate, there is disposed a nut 22 which is held in place by the lip 19 between which and the body of the plate, the nut is located. The nut, of course, lies between the guides and these cooperate with the adjacent flange l9 to hold the nut against rotation.

The screw 2| which passes through the plate and the nut 22, has a knurled head 23 on its upper end and the free lower end of the screw bears against the raised portion of the cover disk 5' to force the latter down against the cap 5.

In the use of the present device, after the jar 3 has been filled and the cap 5 placed in position, the cover disk 5' is disposed over and upon the cap 5 and then the spring ring or collar is snapped into position around the lower part of the neck beneath the usual flange 24 with which such jars are equipped. The hinged upper portion 4 is then swung into position across the cap 5 and cover disk 5' and the hook ll coupled with the hooks ll of the fixed ring or collar 9. This will bring the end of the screw 2| in position against the raised central part 6 of the cover disk 5 and the screw may then be threaded downwardly until the cap 5 is firmly pressed by the cover 5' into the desired contact with the lip of the jar mouth.

Due to the resilient character of the arcuate or bowed upper portion 4, any steam pressure which may develop within the jar while the jar and its contents are being processed, can escape between the cover 5 and the lip of the jar mouth by pressing the cover upwardly, but it will be readily seen that the cover will be immediately forced back after the pressure has been relieved. By this arrangement, after the jar has been removed from the processing bath, the cover will be securely held in place until the contents of the jar cools and the usual vacuum or reduced pressure is established, after which, if desired, the cover securing mechanism may be removed as the pressure upon the cover and the reduced pressure within the jar will be effective to hold the cover firmly in place.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that the device can be operated with a minimum of effort by the average woman who might find it hard to tighten the usual rings on the jar neck to the necessary extent to force the cover 5 into the desired engagement with the edge of the jar mouth. As previously stated, after the processing is completed and the jars have cooled, the clamp or cap securing means may be removed without disturbing the freshly made seal, but while the processing is being carried out, the resilient character of the clamp arm l4 and the parts connected therewith permits the escape or exhaust of steam from the jar with a minimum loss of liquid.

What is claimed is:

1. Mechanism for securing a cover cap upon the mouth of a jar, comprising a ring member adapted to encircle and be secured to the jar below said mouth, an elongated arched member adapted to be disposed over the jar mouth and cover and having two ends, means hingedly coupling one end of the arched member with said ring, means for resiliently detachably coupling the other end of the arched member to the ring opposite from the hinged coupling, a body interposed between the arched member and the cap and resting on the cap, means carried by the arched member for applying downward pressure to the body and to the underlying jar cap to secure the latter in position upon the jar mouth, said ring member including a pair of spaced hooks and said re silient securing means comprising a pair of arms each terminating in a hook andadapted for detachable engagement with a book of the ring.

2. Means for securing a closure cover cap to the mouth of a jar having a flanged neck portion, comprising a split resilient ring adapted to encircle the neck portion beneath said flange and having two spaced ends each terminating in a hook, means forming a hinge ring integral with the split ring, an arched member disposed over said cap and comprising a vertical portion, a horizontal portion and a pair of spring legs, means forming a part of said vertical portion for connection with said hinge ring for hingedly coupling the arched member with the resilient ring, said spring legs each terminating in a hook adapted for detachable connection with a hooked end of the resilient ring, a relatively rigid body adapted to be disposed over the cap, and means carried by said horizontal portion for applying downward pressure to said body and to the closure cap. I

3. Means for securing a closure cap over the mouth of a jar having a flanged neck portion, comprising a split resilient ring adapted to encircle the neck portion beneath said flange and having two spaced ends each terminating in a hook, means forming a hinge ring integral with the split ring, an arched member disposed over said disk and comprising a vertical portion, a horizontal portion and a pair of spring legs, means forming a part of said vertical portion comprising a split resilient ring adapted to encircle the neck portion beneath said flange and having two spaced ends each terminating in a hook, means forming a hinge ring integral with disk adapted to lie over and upon said cap, means carried by said horizontal portion for applying downward pressure to said disk and to the closure for connection with said hinge ring for hingedly coupling the arched member with the resilient ring, said spring legs each terminating in a hook adapted for detachable connection with a hooked end of the resilient ring, a relatively rigid disk adapted to lie over and upon said cap, means carried by said horizontal portion for applying downward pressure to said disk and to the closure cap, said horizontal portion being formed to procap, said spring legs extending downwardly in divergent relation from said horizontal portion and said hook members at the ends of the spring legs turning inwardly toward one another and each having a rounded under side for facilitating its passage over the adjacent resilient ring hook and its engagement with said hook.

5. In a jar having a flanged neck and a relatively thin metal cap adapted to be sealed to the mouth of the neck, securing means for the cap comprising a split resilient ring adapted to be engaged about the neck beneath said flange and formed to provide an eye, an arched yoke member having an eye at one end interconnected with said ring eye, a hook at the opposite end of'the yoke for connection with the ring at the opposite side of the eye thereof, said yoke including intermediate its ends a pair of spaced parallel members, 'a plate secured between said parallel members, a nut carried by the plate, a screw extending through the plate and in threaded connection with the nut, and a relatively heavy plate designed to be disposed over the cap between the screw and the cap to have said screw bear against the central part thereof when the I hook is in engagement with the ring.

ROBERT MOENCK. 

